Chicago Cubs Score and Recap (8/13/26): Nationals 7, Cubs 0 – Cavalli Dominates to Prevent Sweep
The Cubs came into Thursday afternoon’s contest against the Nationals with a chance to complete a three-game sweep. It was not to be, however, as the home team got an outstanding starting pitching performance from Cade Cavalli to win and avoid the brooms.
Both pitchers, Cavalli and Kevin Gausman, were very sharp early and no one reached base through the first three innings. Washington finally broke through with an RBI double by Dylan Crews that put them ahead 1-0 in the bottom of the 4th.
The wheels came off for Gausman and Chicago in a five-run bottom of the 5th. The onslaught started with a sacrifice fly by Andrew Pinckney, then escalated dramatically with a three-run homer off the bat of Abimelec Ortiz. Daylen Lile added an RBI single to knock the starter out of the game and give the Nats a 6-0 lead.
The North Siders could only muster a bloop single from Michael Busch and a walk by Dansby Swanson in eight frames against Cavalli. Aaron Civale covered the rest of the game after replacing Gausman as the Nationals finished off the 7-0 victory. (Box score)
Key Moment
A walk and a couple of soft singles got the big 5th inning going for Washington, and the Cubs just could not stop the bleeding.
Why the Cubs Lost
They got completely dominated by a starter who was absolutely locked in and one bad inning turned the game into a blowout.
Stats That Matter
- Gausman just hit a wall after a great beginning: 4.2 IP, 6 R, 7 H, 7 K, and 1 BB.
- Pete Crow-Armstrong struck out three times.
Bottom Line
The Cubs won both of their series on the road trip, which is always the goal away from home; they just ran into a very talented hurler who was on top of his game. All you can do in that scenario is tip your hat and move on to the next matchup on the schedule.
On Deck
Chicago returns to Wrigley Field for a series against the rival Cardinals beginning Friday at 1:20pm CT. Clay Holmes makes his first home start against Matthew Liberatore in a contest televised on Marquee with a radio feed available on The Score.
